Noah's Brilliant Solution
by aspiringAnimator
Summary: When not LeShawna, but Heather is voted off by the ex-contestants that fateful night at the Playa, how will she adjust to her new life outside the show? Will anyone see her for someone other than an antagonist? Secret Santa gift for ewisko, Cody/Heather, six chapters planned, AU. Please review!
1. Elimination

**6:54 PM.**

Thirteen ex-contestants all sat around a pool. A full moon slowly rose into the sky, bathing the scene in a beautiful light blue. These were the contestants who'd been voted off.

Trent played a mellow song on the guitar as an incredibly sunburned Cody walked up. Trent paused his playing, and turned to face Cody. "Dude, you got cooked today," he remarked unnecessarily. "Who, me?" Cody asked, acting as though he hadn't been sunburned at all. He then sat down beside Trent at the pool, and yelped in pain as his burned skin touched the concrete. "Little sensitive," he quietly muttered, glancing around, hoping not to seem like a wimp.

"So," DJ began, wearing an inflatable life vest, even though he wasn't actually planning on getting in the pool. "Who do you guys want to win if you could vote right now?"

Katie, sitting in the pool in a large inner-tube, squealed, and asked, "Can I pick Sadie?" Sadie floated nearer to Katie, and sighed. "Awww!" Sadie replied. "You'd pick me and not you?"

"Duh, you can't vote for yourself. That's tacky," Katie pointed out.

"Okay. I'll vote for you to win, and you vote for me to win!"

Courtney suddenly cleared her throat, interrupting the two. "Girls, you have to be in the final five to get a vote," she informed them a little irritably. "Remember?"

"Oh, yeah..." Sadie muttered, looking down. "I don't know, then."

"Well, I think Gwen should win," Cody interrupted, smiling at the thought. "Really?" Lindsay asked. "But she rejected you on international TV for someone cooler, hunkier, and more stylish!"

"Um... thanks for pointing that out, Lindsay," Cody replied, chuckling nervously. "Gwen is my dream girl. I'm just not her dream guy. But as long as she's happy, hey, I'm happy!"

He laughed hesitantly, as Trent remarked, "That's really cool, dude." He then patted Cody on the back, causing him to scream in pain. "Oops. Sorry, man."

"I can't decide between LeShawna and Gwen," Bridgette admitted, standing beside Geoff. "They're both really cool!"

"LeShawna, definitely..." Harold sighed, still entangled in the lamp post Courtney had attacked him with. "But you'd vote for Duncan, _right?_" Courtney asked, a little annoyed at Harold's inability to see what he'd done wrong. "Why would I do that?" Harold asked. "Because if you don't," Courtney replied, growing angrier by the second, "I'm going to post all of your little love letters to LeShawna on the internet."

Harold gasped, and sighed. "Fine. Whatever. I'll vote for Duncan."

He then giggled under his breath, and mumbled to himself, "_Not..._"

"I think Owen should win!" Beth suddenly announced, smiling brightly at them all. Noah rolled his eyes, and explained, "He's a ticking time bomb of noxious fumes." But Geoff evidently didn't see Noah's reasoning, because he said, "Owen, definitely. Dude can chug three liters of pop in under a minute! He _deserves_ the hundred G's!"

DJ frowned a little. "I don't think anyone's givin' Duncan enough credit," he commented. "He woke up from a monster nap and helped us win the dodge-ball challenge."

"Okay, that's true," Geoff admitted, still smiling. "That was some sick prison strategy he pulled out of his butt."

"He had all five of you whaling on one opponent at the same time," Eva declared suddenly, arms crossed and appearing a little annoyed. "I like his style."

"I think Gwen should win!" Lindsay suddenly announced to the world. And then, out of nowhere, Chris appeared from a cloud of smoke.

"Hahah!" he laughed, raising his arms to greet the now seventeen losers seated around the pool. "Okay, losers!" he began. "It is time for _the_ most unexpected twist of all time! Tonight, you will be voting the next camper off Total Drama Island!"

"No way!" Lindsay exclaimed unironically. "Oh, yes," Chris responded, grin growing wider. "Here's how it's gonna work. There are no marshmallows. I'm gonna ask you one by one who you would like to see join you here tonight at Playa de Losers. Katie and Sadie, since you share a brain, I'll ask you both. Who would you like to vote for?"

"Oh! I miss LeShawna the most!" Sadie exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "Oh, it would be so much fun to have her here," Katie agreed, smiling brightly. "Definitely LeShawna!"

That was two votes for LeShawna. Everyone gasped. "_Why_ are you voting her off?" Courtney asked, enraged. "If you _like_ LeShawna-"

A bell rang. Three votes for LeShawna. "-then leave her in!" Courtney continued. Chris grinned, and said, "That's three votes for LeShawna!"

"What? _No!_" Courtney exclaimed, horrified. Harold sneered at Courtney, and complained, "You're just voting off my girlfriend to spite me." He then gave her a small shove, to which Courtney started pushing him back. "Let go of me, you big geek!" she shrieked. "Hey! Oh, whoa-"

The two fell into the pool, immersed in the chlorinated water. Noah chuckled, and remarked, "Excellent." Chris ignored the fact that two of the old contestants had just fallen in, and continued, "Okay, onto the next voter. Lindsay." Lindsay held her arms up non-threateningly, and reassured them all, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna vote for LeShawna."

The bell rang again. Four votes for LeShawna. "Lindsay!" DJ yelped. "No, you can't vote for _me_," Lindsay explained. "You have to vote for someone in the final five, like LeShawna!"

Ding. Five votes for LeShawna. Izzy groaned, balled her fists up, and shouted, "Okay, come on, guys - _no one say LeShawna!_"

A bell rang again. Izzy covered her mouth with her hands as Chris reminded, "That's _six _votes for LeShawna!"

...

Noah, who'd been quietly sitting and observing the entire spectacle thus far, had clearly had enough with all this. "Everybody_ - be quiet!_ For_ once!_" he shouted, startling all around him. "While this has been _incredibly_ entertaining - really, it has - I don't think the game will end well if everyone keeps saying You-Know-Who."

"Voldemort?" Lindsay asked, dumbfounded. Noah rolled his eyes, and explained, "The obvious solution is this."

Noah closed his eyes, drew in a breath, and shouted-

"_Heather-Heather-Heather-Heather-Heather-Heather-Heather-Heather-Heather-Heather-Heather-_"

"_Alright!_" Chris screamed, interrupting Noah's tirade. "I _get_ it, Noah. Dang it. I was really hoping the show could've gotten away with kicking off LeShawna."

Noah blinked. "You mean that worked?" he asked, a little surprised. Chris shrugged. "Sure," he responded. "Heather probably would've only gotten in third or something, anyway." He then pulled out a walkie-talkie, and yelled, "Chef! Heather's the one going home tonight. Makes sure she doesn't kick and bite _too_ much on her way here, alright?"

And that was that, apparently.

**7:27 PM.**

"Get your _grungy hands off me!_"

Heather ripped away from Chef's grasp as she was deposited onto Playa de Losers. "What do you _mean_ I'm not on the show anymore?" she shouted, as Chef walked back to his boat. "_Answer me!_ This is _unacceptable!_"

Chef gave a nasty grin, and drove off, leaving Heather all alone on the moonlit dock. "_Hello_, Heather!" Chris suddenly said, walking up to her with an amused grin. "You've just been voted off!"

...

"I've _what?_"

"Yup!" Chris continued, gesturing towards the grand resort. "Y'see, we had a _special_ voting ceremony tonight, here at the Playa! The seventeen losers got to pick which of the five contestants they wanted to go home. And... due to a _technicality..._ they picked you."

Heather gaped, absolutely horrified. "But - but we didn't even have a _challenge today!_" she shrieked. "I am _not_ being kicked off from this show just because a couple of some sore losers thought _I_ got them eliminated."

Chris shrugged, and stepped away into a second awaiting boat. "Sorry, princess!" he yelled, slowly receding towards the horizon. "But democracy's chosen you! Have fun being with all your old... _friends._"

Chris then gave Heather a somewhat cryptic ":L", and drove away from the resort. Heather was in utter shock up until that moment. "_Fine!_" she shrieked, waving her fist in the air. "Like _I_ care! Weird goth girl can _have_ the hundred thousand dollars! And loud-mouth ghetto girl, and the fart machine, and the punk, too! They can _have it!_"

Heather suddenly became increasingly aware that she was standing on a pier screaming at no one in particular. She stomped her foot, and sniffled a little, right when a voice behind her said, "Oh my god!"

She spun around to see her newest interrogator. It was Izzy, accompanied by Noah. "Guys!" Izzy shouted, waving at the pool behind her. "It _worked!_ She's _actually here!_ Nice one, Noah!"

Noah's eyes grew wide as the rest of the contestants slowly meandered their way down to the pier. "Uh... why are you congratulating me, _Izzy?_" Noah asked purposely, giving Izzy a glare. Izzy laughed, and said, "Ohhh, _I_ get it. _You_ want _me_ to pretend like you weren't solely responsible for getting the number one antagonist voted off the show!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Noah claimed, shaking his head sadly. Heather stomped up, and grabbed the bookworm by his collar. "_What_ is she talking about, string-bean?" she seethed, making him wince a little. He pulled away, and shrugged. "While I _love_ getting man-handled by miss queen bee over here," he dully noted, "I really don't know what you mean."

"Oh, wow! It worked!" DJ exclaimed, gazing from Noah to Heather. Noah seemed to be panicking now. "Oh, _yay!_" Lindsay cried, squealing at the sight of Heather standing at the losers' resort. "Thank you _so_ much, Noah! I would've _hated _to see You-Know-Who get kicked off!"_  
><em>

"Uh, Lindsay? You can say LeShawna again," Cody pointed out, having just arrived, "I'm not sure that it matters much anymore! Heh." Lindsay gasped at Cody, and pointed at him with a shaking hand. "He said LeShawna!" she cried, and then covered her own mouth. "Oh, no! _I _said LeShawna! Quick, Noah, say Heather a bunch of times again!"

"So, let me get this _straight_," Heather growled, grabbing Noah again. "This one - one _kid_ is _solely__ responsible_ for getting me kicked off the show?"

Nobody replied, but it was becoming increasingly evident that this was true. Heather swiftly kneed him in the nuts, making him double over in pain with a sharp little yelp. "Chill, Heather!" Geoff advised, seeming a little worried. "Like he said earlier, little dude's totally stoked to have you here-"

"That was _sarcasm!_" Noah cried, trying to crawl away from Heather. "-But you don't need to hit on him like that!" Geoff continued. Heather glanced around at all her former teammates, who all seemed to be staring at her with a sort of wary awe. There were no friends in this crowd to console her. She heaved her chest, and stomped away from them all into the night.

**9:19 PM.**

While most of the other ex-contestants had been perfectly content to return back to the pool without Heather, there was one person in particular who didn't seem alright with letting someone be excluded. Sure, Heather had been cruel, and responsible for the eliminations of multiple contestants, but... _nobody_ deserves to be shunned. Right?

Perhaps. For the moment, though, Heather had been pacing all over the resort grounds, wiping her eyes a lot, and kicking at stray pebbles. She wasn't ready to face the other contestants yet. Everything was over. Why had Chris forced them all to come to some lame resort? If you were to be voted off, Heather decided, it was _much_ better to just go straight home. Save the trouble of seeing the faces you got voted off.

_God__. I am so pathetic. I get to the final five and I can't even get past. Even - even the fat kid made it further than me!_

Heather trembled, and sighed, sitting down on a small boulder that overlooked the lakes of southern Canada. _Maybe I am an awful person. I didn't really think about it when I was on the show. How many people got voted off thanks to me...? Maybe I deserve this... I thought I was doing so well. But what good is doing well when there's nobody who likes you? Nobody who wants to_-

A hand hesitantly rested on her shoulder. She screamed, and swiftly punched her assailant in the face, causing him to shriek out and fall backwards in pain. "Agh! _I'm sorry!_" Cody cried, cowering in fear on the ground. Heather looked disgusted, face contorted in repulsion. "What are you _doing here?_" she roared. "Have you _actually_ been following me?"

"N-no!" Cody stammered, getting up and backing away. "I haven't! Really!" he insisted. "I n-noticed you were missing from the pool party, and I... wanted to check on you, and make sure you weren't-"

"Get _away_ from me!" Heather yelled, annoyed at Cody's persistence. "I'm _not_ gonna date you, if _that's_ what you're gunning for, kid. _Step off_ and go stalk a different girl."

Her words hurt Cody, though he'd been expecting it. "Okay," he consented, stepping back and raising his hands into the air. "I just... I don't know. I thought you might want someone to talk to, heh."

"Well, I _don't_. Now go away, before what I did to _Noah_ happens to _you_."_  
><em>

Cody yelped, and covered his crotch with his hands. "I'm going! I'm _going!_" he insisted, and retreated back towards the resort. For a brief moment, Heather felt triumph pouring through her veins; and then impossible loneliness. With a loud huff, she sad back down on her boulder to brood on what had happened to her over the course of the past two months.

**9:25 PM.**

Cody limped away from Heather, who seemed more than happy to be by herself for a while. All he'd been trying to do was to be friendly, and it didn't seem like anybody else was being nice to Heather at the time. Was there really any harm in that? Of course not.

Well...

Okay, yeah, Cody _did_ have a reputation for being vaguely stalker-ish. But not _really_ that much of a stalker!

_This bites_, Cody thought to himself, walking along the path back to the pool. _She's always so mean. If she'd just be friendly every once in a while, maybe then people would like her. Now that she's officially lost, hey, she might even be friendly!_

...

_Yeahhh... that's a pretty outlandish possibility. Try again, Codemeister. You've got this._

_..._

_Maybe... she's still mad at Lindsay? Or Gwen? Or Noah, because he got her kicked off? Man, I don't know. I guess if I got in fifth place, and suddenly got kicked off, then I'd be pretty mad. I should probably just leave her alone. It's not like I'm even obligated to be nice to her. On the show, she was __never nice to me. I should probably just give her some space._

_Yeah... that's a good plan. Man, I'm the coolest. The Codester. The Codemeister. The Codacious Bro. I'm the shoulder to cry on! And there's nothing wrong with that... right?_

**aspiringAnimator** - Heyooo! This fic is dedicated to my beautiful Secret Santa recipient, ewisko! He requested a generic Heather/Cody fic; multi-chapter, one-shot, whatever. So, I've decided to make it a multi-chapter! Six chapters, to be exact.

The idea for this fic stemmed from an idea I had when I first watched this episode in 2008 or something. I asked, "Wait, why doesn't someone just jump up and shout Heather a billion times?" once it was clear that Leshawna was going home. It would've been really easy for any ex-contestant to have done that. So, I made that a reality, focusing on Heather's time at the Playa after her elimination.

Follow, favorite, read, and review! I've currently got half of the entire story written out, and I'll be uploading as I go. I don't have an exact estimation date for the end of it, but expect this entire thing to be over by late January at the latest. Onto the next chapter!


	2. Consolation

**8:17 AM.**

Another hazy morning sun rose above the luxury resort. Palm trees, though not indigenous to the harsh Canadian environment, swayed gently in the cool breezes of autumn. The now _eighteen_ losers all enjoyed their surely fantastic time at this hotel. After all, they'd spent such a long time earning it, right?

One particular person didn't feel that way, though. She'd spent the past sleepless night in deep brooding over what had happened to her over the last few months. And now, she'd _lost_. And it was _all_ thanks to _one kid_. Noah.

In the end, though, Heather eventually _did_ have to come out of her room down for breakfast. After all, they served pancakes. And who doesn't like pancakes?

She nervously shuffled out the door of the Playa; everybody was already outside. A few people were in the pool; Sadie and Katie were both splashing around and admiring Trent. Bridgette was trying to convince DJ that the water wasn't so bad, and that chlorinated pool water did not have any sharks in it, despite his claims. Moments before, he'd stuck his big toe in, and yelped, saying that a piranha must have just bitten him. Heather walked past the pool; everybody was either ignoring her... or staring at her outright.

Heather walked up to the breakfast bar. "Heyyy, Lindsay!" she greeted with a big pseudo-smile. "How's the food here? Great, right? Wow, I could go for some _pancakes right now!_ How about you?"

Lindsay looked over at Heather with a bored expression. She then turned to Beth, and exclaimed, "Come on, Beth. I think I saw Justin tanning by the pool!"

"Oh, _yay!_" Beth exclaimed, and then gave a smug little grin to Heather. As the two walked away from their former alliance member, Heather balled her hands up into fists, and grumbled, "Why, I ought'a _kill_ those two for..."

Her expression softened slightly, and she simply sat down at the bar, clutching her head into her hands. "What am I saying?" she muttered, wiping her eyes and getting a little bit of mascara onto her fingers. "It's _my_ stupid fault that I'm here..."

An intern wearing a tank-top behind the bar walked up to her. "What're you having?" he asked in a bored expression. Heather merely shrugged, sniffed, and asked, "What do you have? I don't want anything too carb-heavy."

"We've got pancakes."

"...and?"

"That's it."

Heather seemed a little put-off by the lack of options. "No thanks, then," she said, thumping both of her elbows onto the wooden bar. "I'm not hungry."

"Suit yourself," the intern said, rolling his eyes. "Name's Brad, by the way. I work the breakfast snack bar and the evening snack bar." Heather ignored him, and he strolled away, leaving her to brood all by herself. Mentally, she kicked herself for ignoring him like that - _that's not what you do as a person_, she reminded herself. _You don't just ignore people. God, maybe I'm a real bitch..._

Just then, someone sat down beside her. It was the same dorky, pale nerd who'd accosted her the previous night. "Hey!" he greeted with a smile. "I kind of noticed you were all alone over here. Is, uh... something the matter?"

"Hm. I wonder _why_ I'm all alone?" Heather snapped, glaring at Cody. "It might be because I've alienated everyone on this team from me! I could also mean that I'm a huge _bitch_. Or, the highly-coveted reason, of me just being _born to fail_. Which _is it_, Cody? Answer me. Because I _really need_ an immature kid to follow me around right now."

Cody stepped away, wide-eyed. "Oh, um... sorry," he stammered. "You wanna be alone. That's cool. I can totally get that."

"Then leave."

And Cody left. Again, for a brief, split second, Heather was satisfied; full of triumph - but then, the impossible loneliness crept over her again, and she found herself calling, "Wait! Wait. Cody. Come back."

He seemed hesitant, and fidgeted with his hands as he approached once more. "You're not, uh... gonna hit me, are you?" Cody stammered, wincing just in case she did. "Because I can totally understand if you _do_ want to, but, uh... please just avoid the general groin area-"

"No," Heather snapped. She sighed, and pointed at the seat beside her. "I just need someone to talk to right now. Since _nobody else_ wants to." Cody took the seat beside her, and seemed genuinely concerned. "I guess, um... people are angry about... whatever you did," Cody said unnecessarily, acting as though he hadn't seen every episode of the show so far. Heather sighed again, and mumbled, "Yeah. They might be. I mean... not even dumb-as-bricks _Lindsay_ wants to hang out with me anymore."

Cody looked down at his hands, a little hesitant to speak. "Well... I mean, surely there's people _here_ who wanna be your friend," he eventually said. "Like, um... maybe Ezekiel? Y'know, he's actually kind of nice, I've been showing him how to act-"

"You mean home-school kid? No thank you."

"Or Noah. He's kind of boring sometimes, but I think the two of you might be a good match-"

"A good _match?_" Heather snapped, outrage in her eyes. "So - wait, you're telling me - _you_ think that _I_ should fall head-over-heels for the _kid_ who _caused my elimination_ literally less than _twenty-four hours ago_-"

"No!" Cody disclaimed quickly, shaking his hands non-threateningly. "No, I didn't - I didn't mean that at all! Um - like, the two of you might make good friends. He's sarcastic and witty and kind of brutal in his honesty, like you. Not that that's a bad thing!" Cody yelped as Heather shot him another glare. "It can, um... be a good thing!"

At first, Heather didn't respond; she simply sighed, and let her head thump down onto the bar surface. "God, is that what everyone thinks of me now?" she mumbled, not even caring about the fact that a leftover piece of corn was being pressed into her cheek. "That I'm '_brutally honest_'? That's just another way of saying that I'm an absolute bitch. You know it, too, Cody. Don't lie to me."

Cody seemed unsure of what to say, and just sat there for a few moments in silence. And just then, a figure appeared beside him, and made a move to sit down at the bar. "Hey, Cody," Noah greeted in a bored tone, and snapped his fingers for the intern to come back. "Can I get a stack of chocolate pancakes? Hold the butter."

Heather jumped up, eyes absolutely flaming with hatred and mouth curved up in a snarl. "It's _you_," she growled. He turned to look at her in his same nonchalant expression. She pointed at him, and shouted, "_You_ were the one who got me kicked off the _show!_" Noah continued to stare at her, mouth creeping up in a slight smirk. "So?" he asked. "It could've easily been anyone else. If I hadn't said it, I'm sure someone else would've-"

"No," Heather interrupted, madness gleaming in her eyes. "Shut up. I am _sure_ that if you hadn't - hadn't done _whatever it is_ that you _did_, then I wouldn't have gone home. It'd probably be weird goth girl."

"Hey!" Cody protested, trying to stop the bickering, "Leave - leave Gwen out of this!" Heather casted him a haughty stare, and sighed. "Whatever," she growled. "Noah, just stay away from me. I am _not_ in the mood to be messed with right now." Noah shrugged as a plate stacked with pancakes was presented to him. "Suit yourself," he muttered in between bites. "But I've been at this resort for a _while_ now, so I think I can have breakfast at the same place that I've been eating for the past _three months_ without some random chick freaking out at me."

Noah then began wolfing down the pancakes, obviously not willing to talk to the girl he'd caused the elimination of just the previous night. Heather, fed up with everybody and everything, shoved herself away from the bar, almost knocking over her stool. "I'm going back to my room," she notified the two, and then stomped away. Noah rolled his eyes.

"Why were you even sitting with her?" Noah asked, eyes on his plate. Cody just gave a weak shrug. "I dunno," he mumbled. "I just thought she might be lonely. If I was her, I know I'd be."

**6:12 PM.**

Cool Canadian breezes rushed over the resort, dancing among the leaves, and flowing over the crisp clear waters around the resort. A warm orange sun slowly descended towards the horizon, partially covered by far off, hazy clouds. Beams of light were cast through their effervescent plumes of condensation, shining down on the resort like some kind of halo.

Most of the ex-contestants were back in the dining hall, helping themselves to a scrumptious dinner served by the hotel staff. Everybody except Heather, that is.

She'd stayed outside, and ended up sitting down at the beach on a lawn chair, watching the sunset as she stewed in her thoughts. The decision to not go to dinner had been an easy one to make; after all, avoiding _any_ sort of awkward conversation or staring was a pretty big goal for Heather. So, she'd just picked up a granola bar from the breakfast area, and went down to the beach to sulk.

_I shouldn't be so moody all the time_, she thought to herself, looking down at her hands. _I deserve this. I really do. I... I was a real bitch to a lot of people. I... I don't even know how many people I caused the elimination of. _That one fact caused her to droop her head, and bring her hands to her face in shame; she didn't even _deserve_ to get as far as she did, in her mind.

_Ugh. Y'know... Noah did everybody a favor. Obviously I'm the bad guy, so... I was bound to go home anyway. I never even had any real friends on the show. I bossed Lindsay around... Beth eventually hated me... nobody liked me. And here I am - feeling sorry for myself! As if I deserve to be liked!_

Heather clutched her head in her hands, unable to withstand it all. She tightened her eyes, gripped the chair, and quietly growled to herself, "_Fuuuuuck_..."

Just then, a shrill, excited voice behind her cried out, "Hey! You're in my chair!"

Heather shot up, and whipped her head around to stare at her assailants. Izzy was pointing frantically at Heather's chair with an insane expression, while Noah stood beside her giving Heather a somewhat amused smirk. Behind the two, Cody was approaching. "Uh, what?" Heather asked, and then looked down at her plastic lawn chair. "Oh. This? I got here first. You should've finished dinner earlier."

"I've been sitting there for like two weeks now!" Izzy exclaimed, and ran up to Heather with an excited expression. "Now move! Ahahahaha!"

Heather rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms. "If _I_ were you, _I'd_ stay away," she warned, but Izzy wasn't having any of that. She scooped up some sand in her hands, and held it menacingly over Heather's hair, while flashing a brilliantly insane grin. "If you don't move, I'll pour this sand in your hair!" Izzy declared. "It's like we're in the third grade again!"

A shriek rose from Heather, as she jumped up from the chair and away from the threat of sandy hair. Izzy giggled, let the sand fall down to the beach, and took a seat. "Much better!" she sighed. "Hey! Noah-it-all! You're just standing there!"

Noah raised an eyebrow, and sat in the chair beside Izzy's, while Heather glared at the two. Cody approached from behind Noah and Izzy, and smiled shyly at Heather, taking a seat beside Noah. "Um... why don't you join us, Heather?" Cody asked tentatively, ignoring the shocked stares of his two friends. "We sit here every night to watch the sun set. You can, um... sit with us, if you like..."

"What are you _doing?_" Noah whispered, though it was pretty clear that Heather could hear him. "You want _Heather_ to sit with _us?_"

"_Hey!_" Cody whispered back, ignoring Heather's narrowing glare. "What about when I was kicked off the show, and you let me sit with you? Why can't we show that sort of hospitality to Heather?"

Noah's glance flipped between Cody and Heather a few times. Seconds later, he sighed, and slumped down into his chair. "There's another chair right over there," Noah mumbled, pointing at one a few feet away. "I guess... pull up a seat and sit with us, Heather."

Initially, Heather was about to flat out walk away, but she decided against it. She trudged over to the vacant, plastic chair, dusted a few stray particles of sand off it, and sat down, squinting at the sunset. "It's bright out here," she muttered, holding up a hand to keep the sun out of her eyes. Noah smirked, and sarcastically remarked, "We never noticed."

A long, awkward pause went by. Clearly, Noah and Izzy were both having some reservations about having Heather sit with them, and Heather knew it, too. She eventually sighed, and said, "I guess you guys are wondering why I didn't _storm away_ from you guys the moment you all arrived." Izzy looked up at Heather, and rapidly exclaimed, "Yeah! I always thought you were a huge jerk all the time! That's what everybody said about you, anyway."

Heather sighed deeply, and closed her eyes, facing the facts again. "Yeah... I realize that," she mumbled. "I just... I don't have any friends. _Cody's_ the only one here who spoke to me at _all_ when I arrived. And I was so close, too! I got in _fifth_."

Noah frowned, and asked, "So. What's it like to get so far in the show? Did you guys get better food or something as it went on? All I remember from the show is that the food sucked, and reading was apparently _highly discouraged_ by everyone else." Heather made a gagging expression at the mention of Camp Wawanakwa's food, and stuttered, "Ugh. The food? No, that was terrible the _whole way through_. The only day it was _any good_ was during the awake-a-thon, and you were there for that, Noah."

"Fair enough," said Noah, who turned his attention back to the sun, which was beginning to cross the horizon. Cody, sitting in his chair with a somewhat nervous expression, suddenly jumped up, and said, "We need to get the fire going, I think. I'm gonna go head back to the resort to get some logs."

"Oooh! I'll do it!" Izzy shouted with a huge smile. "Izzy _loooves_ fire!"

And just like that, Izzy ran off towards the resort, eager to get the wood ready. Cody sat back down, and rubbed his hands together in the cool of the Canadian dusk. Heather just seemed content to be there, watching the sunset with people who _didn't_ hate her guts - at least, didn't _admittedly_ hate her guts. After a while, Cody looked up, and asked, "So... who do you two think's gonna win?"

In the same instant, Noah said "Owen", whereas Heather said "Duncan". The two exchanged glances, and backed away from each other, as though performing a synchronized dance. "You think the _fart machine's_ going to win?" Heather asked, as though doubting Noah's alleged intellectual standards.

"Owen's the only person still on the show that everyone _likes_," Noah said simply. "Nobody's going to want to vote him off. That's how he got this far. Whereas _Duncan_ is just some hooligan who bullies the other contestants. Owen all the way."

Heather crossed her arms, and sunk deeper into her seat as the sun started to slip under the horizon. "Well, I hate all of them..." she revealed, brooding over her escapades in the game. "They're all stupid. None of them deserved to get as far as they did. Honestly, _I'm_ surprised loud-mouth LeShawna and the... weird goth girl got farther than _me_."

"I think Gwen could win!" Cody suddenly announced. "Still vouching for that girl?" Noah asked in a bored tone. Cody nodded fiercely, while Heather rolled her eyes.

Just then, Izzy appeared, carrying a huge pile of wood in her arms. "Hey, guys!" she yelled, absolutely excited to be making a fire. "And Heather. Look at all this wood I found! It was just stacked outside the resort!"

Heather looked around, and back towards the pool. "Where's everyone else?" she asked. "Are they back at the pool? It's like that's all anyone _does_ around here. Swimming." Cody nodded in confirmation, as Izzy worked on piling all the firewood in the center of a pit circled with stones. The sky above began to be toned with pink; the sun long gone. Within minutes, Izzy had arranged all the wood and gotten a small flame started in the bottom of the pit. The cold Canadian night air began to rush over them all as they waited for the fire to get bigger.

"Man, sometimes I wish I could burn everything!" Izzy shouted, hopping back into her seat next to Noah. "Y'know how much _fun_ that would be? Just light a match, drop it, and watch _everything_ go up in flames! Ahahahahaha!"_  
><em>

Heather leaned forward, and rubbed her hands together, appreciating the warmth of the fire and of her new acquaintances. "I think you might want to watch Miss Pyro over here," Noah remarked, leaning back in his chair with a smug grin and a glance at Izzy. "Before the end of the week the entire resort might be burning down."

A small giggle from Heather, one that was caught by everybody. Heather wasn't known to laugh. Heather wasn't known to laugh at all. Cody stared at her curiously, as did Noah, though nobody said anything. Heather, not wanting to call further attention to herself, sunk into her plastic chair as a crescent moon began to dip towards the horizon.

Above, hundreds of stars began to make their presence known as the four ex-contestants all exchanged stories about recent happenings at the resort, or from their time on the show. Heather had a huge volume of tales to tell, and gradually made companionship with her three new friends late into the night. By the time they'd gotten through only half of their conversations, the fire had died out, and almost everyone had gone to bed. With deep regret, the four parted.

"Bye, Heather!" Cody yelled with a grin as he ran back up to the resort. She gave a small wave back, though her instinctive distrust never left her eyes; not with _anyone_. But...

_Why_ was she so distrustful of everyone? Did it really matter anymore? No show... no competition.

Couldn't she just...

Enjoy herself for once?

Heather stood in solitude on the beach for a few more minutes in contemplation - and then retreated to her room.

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:** ewisko, Applause2014, Knifez, acosta perez jose ramiro, and FOWLKON!

**aspiringAnimator** - Hope you liked the chapter! See that list up above? Those are people who reviewed on the last chapter! Ewisko always gets on the list no matter what, but this system encourages you guys to leave a quick review to let me know what you think about my writing, and the story. Feedback helps me improve as a writer! So don't just give me compliments or whatever - leave a suggestion, criticism, all that. I'm open to it all.

Also, shameless self advertising time: If you like my writing, take a look at my other TD fic, The Fifty State Roadtrip, a fic where 50 US states all compete for the million. Believe it or not, it's almost complete! Check it out if you can, it'd make my day. Might be worth it just to see how far your state got (or if they're about to win!)


	3. Aggravation

**10:42 AM.**

"So, how are you enjoying your exile?"

Courtney faced Heather with a smug grin and arms folded at the resort pool the second day Heather stayed at the Playa. A high sun permeated the sky, letting its brazen beams roast the ex-contestants in their summer enjoyment. Heather, on her way to the breakfast bar again, had been faced by Courtney immediately upon exiting the resort. "What's it to you?" Heather asked, pretty annoyed. Courtney gave an innocent shrug.

"Nothing!" Courtney sighed. "I'm just glad that _some_ people end up getting what they _deserve_..."

She then walked off, leaving Heather alone. Heather scoffed, stamped her foot, and lunged towards the breakfast bar, fuming about Courtney's quip about her. She heavily sat down at a stool, and snapped her fingers for the intern to come. "_Brian_," she snapped, "or... _whatever_ your name is. I'm _hungry_."

The intern appeared, giving her an annoyed expression. "It's Brad," he informed her, but Heather didn't seem to care. "And we're not having breakfast anymore. It's past ten. This is the juice bar now."

Heather groaned, as did her empty stomach. "I'm _starving..._" she exaggerated, looking around. "Where _is_ everybody? There's hardly anyone out here."_  
><em>

True to her word, the pool-side area was practically empty, save for Harold, who was just wading around in the water on his own. "Oh, the kids?" Brad asked, wiping down the counter with a wet wash cloth. "They're all inside the resort watching the new episode of the show. You should probably go follow them if you want to see what's going on."

"Thanks..." Heather muttered after almost walking away without a word - she really was trying her hardest _not_ to be rude. With a speedy stroll, Heather made her way into the resort, coming to a halt when face with the huge main room. Most of the others were here, all sitting around the couch and watching something on a huge flat-screen TV hung above the fireplace. Nobody noticed her slink in, as she narrowed her eyes towards the newest episode of Total Drama Island.

"_...this week, we've prepared a bizarre episode full of surprises. For instance, take this weather!_"

Chris McLean was standing on the dock of Camp Wawanakwa, holding an umbrella to shield him from a torrent of rain. "_Rain is not an easy thing to control, let me tell you_," Chris claimed, showing off his most famous TV smile. "_But, we figured the four remaining campers were getting off way too easy. So, we pulled some strings, and voila!_"

"Ugh. It rained plenty of times on the show!" Beth complained as the scene on TV was changed. "They're acting like it was all sunshine the _entire time_." Bridgette, who was sitting on Geoff's lap, nodded in agreement, though nobody wanted to divert their attention from the show. "_Man, I can't stand this rain!_" the LeShawna on TV proclaimed, holding up her hand and sitting on the steps of her cabin. Gwen nodded, sitting right beside her. "_I think I get gassy when it rains..._" Owen warned, glancing around nervously, and a fart could be heard from the big guy.

Duncan could also be seen on camera, as he sat on the steps of his cabin, sharpening some kind of spear. Moments later, thunder boomed ominously around the four remaining campers, who eventually decided to just go inside. Heather, still watching the show, sat down on the couch beside Cody. "Oh, hey, Heather!" he greeted with a friendly smile. "You're just in time for the episode! Usually we all gather around and watch it right when it airs."

DJ scooted to make some room for Heather; he clearly didn't seem willing to quarrel with her at all. Heather noticed this, of course, and for the remainder of the next few minutes, her expression was overtaken with a dark brooding glare at the TV. _Ugh. Cody is really the only kid here I can stand..._ she thought to herself, letting her mind wander away from the episode. _And his friends. I guess._

On the TV, Duncan and Owen were both standing in a floating cabin; the rain from the night had apparently flooded everything. "_Dude, you're making the cabin sink!_" Duncan shouted on TV. True to his word, the end Owen stood on slowly tipped downwards. "_Aw - I'm sorry!_" Owen cried, walking over to Duncan's end. "_Maybe if I come over to this end, it'll be better!_"

Of course, the combined weight of Duncan _and_ Owen only made the cabin sink further, and the two were forced out the door and into the newly created lake. Gwen and LeShawna were struggling in the water, screaming about a shark. Seeing her old competitors on TV only increased Heather's cynicism about the show; she smirked, and thought about how _she_ would react in that situation.

Before long, the four campers had made it to the sandy shore of an island, completely at a loss to where they were. "_Y'know, I watched a survival show a while ago about these kids who were stuck on an island,_" Duncan remarked as the party trekked along the beach. "_They ended up drinking salt water. They all went crazy, and ended up eating the fattest kid._" Just like that, the three contestants all looked to Owen, who backed away from them. "_Okay, guys, we're not going to eat Owen,_" Gwen protested, trying to keep LeShawna and Duncan away. "_The producers will send a search party for us. This is all probably just some challenge._"_  
><em>

"Oh, my gosh, I would _totally_ freak out if I was still on the show!" Lindsay proclaimed suddenly, soliciting nods in agreement. "I could _never_ spend a day without makeup or beauty products. Gwen and LeDasha must be really brave..."

On screen, Gwen's efforts had clearly failed, because Owen was running away from LeShawna and Duncan, who just stood in awe of his lumbering mass trying to get away from the nonexistent danger. Just like that, Owen was separated from the others. "_You two are ridiculous_," Gwen decided with a huff, sitting down on a rock. "_I'm going to sit right here and wait for Chris's search party_."_  
><em>

Heather chuckled at that, and remarked, "At least goth girl has some sense in her." Her little remark gained her a glare from Trent as she mentally slapped herself; _That's not how you get friends, Heather_, she reminded herself for the umpteenth time.

Owen, on screen, was now on his own, and had apparently made friends with a coconut, giving it a face and everything. "_It's okay, Mr. Coconut,_" he whispered to it, shuddering and crouching behind a rock. "_I won't let the others get you. You're safe with me. Heheheheh! Nuts..._"

Just then, LeShawna appeared, and pointed at Owen's coconut with a shaking hand. "_Owen, if you know what's best for you, you're gonna gimme that coconut!_" she yelled, only to have Owen jump up and stand in front of Mr. Coconut in a protective gesture. "_He is my friend!_" Owen yelled, but LeShawna swiped her hand down and grabbed the fruit. "_Hey!_" Owen yelled, chasing after her. "_Don't eat Mr. Coconut!_"

The contestants clearly weren't sticking together on this one. Before long, Duncan had skewered a rabbit, separated from Gwen. LeShawna eventually took to eating Mr. Coconut, as she ran along the beach away from Owen. Meanwhile, Gwen was just waiting for the rescue party, head in her hands, wondering how everything had come to this. As Owen sat sobbing on screen about his deceased coconut, Heather raised an eyebrow, and muttered, "This is stupid. I'm going outside again."

"Yeah, I never really got the point of watching the episodes," Noah agreed in a bored tone. "It's not like I'm competing still, and I would never watch this garbage at home voluntarily. Count me in." Cody followed the two, heading outside and into the sunshine.

"I just can't stand _sitting in there_ with all of them..." Heather revealed, taking a seat in a pool chair. "They're _staring_ at me. Ugh. The only person I'd be okay with winning is Duncan. I _guess_. He's the only one there I don't hate."

"LeShawna's my bet..." Noah muttered, looking down. "Realistically, anyways. But I'd love for Owen to win. I know that _Cody_ is all about Gwen winning, though."

Both Heather and Noah looked to Cody, who was just staring down at the ground. "Um... I dunno..." Cody mumbled, scratching the back of his head and chuckling nervously. "I'm kind of, uhhh... over Gwen. I think. I _used_ to really like her, and I wanted her to like me back, but, um... not so much anymore..."

"Really?" Heather asked, somewhat surprised. She maintained her stoic expression, however, and said, "Well, weird goth girl wasn't going to get anywhere in this competition, anyway." Cody didn't respond, and merely avoided Heather's gaze. Noah's eyes flickered between the two, a look of slowly dawning understanding rising into his face. "Uh. I'm going to go back inside," Noah said suddenly, jerking a thumb back at the resort. "I most _certainly_ wouldn't want to miss out on finding out what shenanigans our old friends get up to. I'll... leave you two to it."

He walked off, a smug grin on his face as usual. Cody, still looking at the cement ground that surrounded the pool, was silent for a few moments, and the mumbled, "If, um... you were still on the show, Heather... I'd be rooting for you. You're a better person than I thought, and to be honest... a lot of people seem to misunderstand you."

Heather seemed to be in a form of shock; hearing someone regard her as something _other_ than an antagonistic bitch was news. "Um... wow, Cody..." she said quietly, at a loss for what else to say. "That's... _surprising_, coming from you... I don't know what to say. I don't think anyone's really _thought_ of me as a _good person_..."

There was a long, awkward pause. "I'm going to go back inside," Cody suddenly decided, pointing unnecessarily at the resort. "You wanna come? The voting ceremony's coming up soon." Heather nodded as her mouth formed a tiny smile. "Sure," she said, standing up. "It's good to get out of this heat, anyway." They walked back inside the resort's main room, where the voting ceremony was underway.

"Go _Owennn!_" Izzy cheered, looking up at the TV with a big smile. Currently, Chris was saying something, holding a marshmallow between Duncan and Owen, but whatever he was saying was unheard, because every single ex-contestant was voicing their thoughts on who would be going home. "Duncan _has_ to stay in!" Courtney shrieked, her hands hovering before her mouth. "Chris can't _do_ this!"

"Oooh, Duncan _is_ kind of hot..." Katie fawned, and earned a nod of agreement from Sadie, though she received a sharp, burning glare from Courtney. "_Ahem_," Courtney coughed. "He's _taken_." Harold rolled his eyes, and mumbled, "Who cares if Duncan stays in the game? He's just a _jerk_. Gosh! LeShawna, now... _she's_ going to win..."

"Hey, dudes, everybody quiet!" Geoff suddenly yelled, raising his arms. "Chris is about to give the marshmallow out!"

It was between Duncan and Owen. "_The final marshmallow of the evening goes to..._" Chris said waving the fluffy goods tantalizingly in front of the two's faces.

...

...

...

"C'mon, already!" Beth shrieked, her fists clenched. "The anticipation is killing me!" The Chris on TV smiled, and tossed the marshmallow to Duncan. "_Duncan!_" Chris said. "_Owen, you're going home, buddy. For some reason, your friends don't trust you, after you sank a cabin and befriended a coconut! Head down the dock, Owen._"

"_Awww..._" Owen mumbled, getting up and waving sadly at the remaining three contestants. "_Bye, Owen!_" Gwen said, wincing as she watched him recede into the distance. LeShawna saluted him, whereas Duncan just seemed glad that he wasn't going home, especially when they were so close to the finals. "_I had a lot of fun!_" Owen said, giving Chris a high five on his way out. "_Bye, guys!_"

"_Whyyy?_" Izzy cried, her head in her hands. "He was so much _fun!_" Noah raised an eyebrow, and patted her on the shoulder with a somewhat amused smile. "This means that Owen's going to be here with us now," he reminded Izzy. "So it's not all bad. Besides, I'd rather _he_ come over, as opposed to one of the _other_ three still in the game..."

"I _guess_..." Izzy mumbled with a sigh, giving way to Noah's rationalism. "I just kind of wanted to see him win, is all. But hey! You're right, he _is_ going to be here with us! Oh, man, I can't wait - maybe he's here already! Where's the boat?"

The eighteen ex-contestants all glanced around. "I think that episode was filmed last night!" Cody exclaimed, raising a finger. "And when _I_ was kicked off, I only got here the next _morning_, which means..."

There was a loud slam. The front doors of the resort had been burst open. "Hey, guys!" Owen shouted, running in. "Owen!" DJ yelled, smiling. "Guys, he's here! Let's all give him a big, warm welcome!" And just like that, most of the teens gathered around Owen for a giant, smelly hug. Heather stared, thinking about how utterly different this was to _her_ welcome. _Heather's_ welcome mainly consisted of a lot of staring. "Good to have you here, Owen," Trent said, patting him on the back. "How was the boat ride over here?"_  
><em>

"_Awesome!_" Owen yelled, bouncing his fists up and down in excitement, utterly thrilled to be seeing his old friends again. "Oh, _man_, you guys - this is _so cool!_ Ahahah! I haven't seen most of you in _forever_. Where's the lunch bar...? I haven't eaten _anything_ in like an _hour!_"

"Right over there, my brother!" Geoff shouted, pointing towards the back of the hotel. Owen greeted the others as quickly as possible, and then proceeded to dart through the lobby over to the food. "Huh. Looks like he hasn't changed much..." Noah muttered, though not as irritably as usual. "I almost thought he was going to somehow win the game for a while."

"Yeah, right..." Heather sarcastically responded, eyeing Owen as he lumbered towards the food bar. "Any reality where that guy gets in first place is one that _I_ don't want to be a part of."

"Oh, come on, Owen's fun!" Cody suddenly mentioned, smiling at Heather. "I'm _glad_ he's here. Y'know, if you want people to like you again... it might be a good idea to be friendlier. I don't mean anything by that, of course, but... it's just a suggestion."

Normally, Heather would've kneed Cody in the nuts, had he said that to her just a few weeks ago, but she merely gave a sideways, vaguely appreciative glance at him. Nobody seemed to have the confidence and persistence he did. Besides, what he said was _true..._ being nice to people tended to pay off, in the long run. It was just a skill that Heather didn't seem to really have. Heather nodded thoughtfully at what Cody said, and for that moment, the two stood in mutual silence, watching chaos unfold as Owen gobbled down every single sandwich the lunch bar had to offer. And then, Heather's expression slowly crept into a smile.

**SPECIAL THANKS TO: **ewisko, Applause 2014, Elizabeth Agosta, acosta perez jose ramiro, and JokerCarnage5!

**aspiringAnimator** - Another chapter uploaded. Not much newsworthy stuff to say today! I don't think the entire six chapters will be complete by Christmas, but we're definitely getting there. And I will upload one on or around Christmas, just for the holiday season. Once again, this fic is dedicated to ewisko :D I tend to be pretty serious about my gifts. Which is why everyone in my family is getting knitted scarves this year.

Again, people get in that "special thanks to" list by reviewing! Every bit of feedback helps, trust me. Especially the negative feedback! That wasn't sarcasm - I do enjoy critiques, it's how I improve my writing.

Onto the next chapter! If you like my writing, check out The Fifty State Roadtrip: a fic that started with fifty contestants, and is now down to four. It's a long journey. If you've got the time, please take a look!


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